Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1985
RWANDA
Rwanda's present Government, under Major General Juvenal
Habyarimana, came to power in a nonviolent coup in 1973. The
President is also the founder of the single party, the
National Revolutionary Movement for Development. Government
policy is set by the President in consultation with the
party's central committee and the Council of Ministers. Laws
are adopted by the National Development Council (the
legislature), which was established in 1982. In December
1983, President Habyarimana, the sole candidate, was reelected
along with a new slate of deputies. Although the legislative
candidates had to be approved by the party, the race was open
to almost all who chose to run.
The major organizations responsible for administration of
justice in Rwanda include the Ministry of Justice — law courts,
judicial police, and the prison system — and the gendarmerie,
the police force which is recruited in parallel with the army
but receives specialized police training. In addition, the
Office of the President includes the Central Intelligence
Service which can make certain decisions which may not be
appealed, such as denial of passports to Rwandan citizens for
travel abroad or the extension of visas and residence permits
to foreigners.
Most Rwandans are poor rural farmers. There is little
industry, and imports are expensive because of high
transportation costs. Nevertheless, Rwandan economic
development has managed to keep pace with the country's high
population growth rate.
The human rights situation in Rwanda continued gradually to
improve in 1985. The President again stressed the nation's
commitment to human rights, including in his speech on
Rwanda's national day in July 1985. The Government also
concentrated on a series of training seminars for persons
involved in the administration of justice, continued to
release prisoners who had served at least half of their
sentences, and made efforts to improve the treatment of
prisoners. In 1985, 36 prisoners convicted of political
crimes were conditionally released.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:
a. Political Killing
There were no reports of politically motivated killings or
summary executions in Rwanda in 1985.
b. . Disappearance
Unexplained disappearances have not occurred in recent years.
c. Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment
According to Amnesty International's 1985 Report (covering
1984), there have been allegations of torture made in court by
political prisoners, involving forced confessions and
electrical shocks. However, Amnesty International also noted
the Minister of Justice's efforts to punish security and
police forces found to have ill-treated prisoners.
Corporal punishment is not permitted, but neglect,
overcrowding, and inadequate guard training have rendered
prison conditions generally poor. The Government attempts to
cope with overcrowding in part by periodic amnesties of
persons who have served half their terms or have fewer than 5
years to serve. The most recent such amnesty was announced in
July 1985. A new prison with improved facilities opened near
Kigali, and more facilities are planned for the future. The
Minister of Justice has made the improvement of the prison
system his first priority. A seminar held for directors of
prisons in March 1985 emphasized the right of prisoners to be
treated humanely and with dignity. All categories of
prisoners may now have monthly visits by their families.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
Except for suspects caught committing crimes, arrests normally
occur with a warrant following investigation. Except in rare
cases where the defendant is not available, charges must be
formally stated in the defendant's presence within 5 days of
arrest. Failure to meet that requirement is grounds for
dismissal of the charges. Under preventive detention
provisions, however, persons may be held for 30 days. At the
end of that period, a judicial review is mandatory. If
warranted, the detention can be prolonged indefinitely for
30-day periods. These provisions have not been invoked during
the past year. Detainees may appeal their incarceration, and
the appeal must be heard within 24 hours by a competent
judicial authority. There were no known exceptions to the
legally mandated warrant procedures and no detentions for
political offenses in 1985. The Justice Ministry has
initiated a program of official visits to prisons to ascertain
that the proper documentation exists for each detainee.
Rwandan law prohibits forced labor.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
Although all defendants are constitutionally entitled to
representation, a shortage of lawyers makes it difficult for
the accused to prepare an adequate defense. Family and other
nonprofessional counsel is permitted. Trials which arouse
extensive public interest are often broadcast to the street,
so that persons who cannot be seated in the courtroom may
still follow the proceedings.
The judiciary is statutorily independent and expected to apply
the penal code impartially, but the President names and
dismisses magistrates. New laws in January 1982 strengthened
the independence of the judiciary somewhat by improving the
nomination process and more closely defining the functions of
judicial personnel. Rwanda has three separate court systems
for criminal/civil, military, and state security cases. All
but security cases may ultimately be appealed to the court of
appeals. The state security court has jurisdiction over
national security charges such as treason. Some cases tried
before this court have resulted in innocent verdicts.
In 1985, 36 persons convicted of political crimes were granted
conditional release from prison. Thirty-three of them had
been held since 1960 for activities committed during the
revolution. The others had been convicted in 1983 of having
distributed seditious documents and were adopted by Amnesty
International as prisoners of conscience.
Theoneste Lizinde, former Chief of State Security, who is
already serving a life sentence for a 1981 conviction of
plotting to overthrow the Government, was tried for a second
time in May 1985. In the 1985 trial, Lizinde and 11 others
were tried on charges of murder, torture, and other crimes
against human rights for activities committed in the aftermath
of Habyarimana ' s 1973 coup. The defendants were accused of
torturing and killing 55 prisoners, including many former
cabinet ministers. Ten of the defendants, including Lizinde
and the former Ruhengeri Prison Director, were convicted. The
other defendant was acquitted. Lizinde and four codefendants
were sentenced to death, while the others received varying
prison sentences. The appeals process has yet to run its
course, so it is uncertain whether the death sentences will
actually by carried out. Those convicted, along with the
Rwandan State, are also being held responsible for
indemnifying the victim's families.
In August 1985, four persons were tried for political crimes
committed between 1960 and 1981. One of the defendants was
acc[uitted; two others received sentences of 2 and 7 years
respectively, and the fourth, Aloys Ngurumbe, was sentenced to
life imprisonment for fomenting an armed rebellion against the
Government .
f . Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
Rwandans are subject to some interference in their private
lives, following practices inherited from the former monarchy
which ruled the country for several hundred years. Police are
normally required to have warrants before entering a private
residence, but, using the pretext of checking required
documentation, authorities can gain unwarranted entry into
homes. A person may move out of his home commune only with
the permission of the mayor of the commune into which he
wishes to move; the Government can bar a person from specific
employment, but not all employment; and all citizens must
carry identification cards. On the other hand, there is no
evidence that the Government monitors private correspondenca,
and the receipt of foreign publications is permitted.
Rwandans have the right to own property.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Rights, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The law guarantees freedom of speech and press, but public
criticism of the Government is conspicuously lacking. This is
probably due as much to the tradition of respecting authority
as to fear of sanctions. Candidates in the 1983 legislative
elections were restricted to expressing opinions and
advocating policies sanctioned by party doctrine. However,
some members of the National Development Council have
criticized government policies from the floor of the Council.
The Government produces radio broadcasts, a daily press
bulletin, and a weekly newspaper. Two Catholic church
publications sometimes print muted criticism of political and
economic conditions. Such criticism is tolerated and
occasionally even encouraged by the Government. There is no
record of any journalist' having been arrested for what he has
written. The Government has cautioned the press, however, to
avoid what it regards as "harmful" criticism of leaders and
maintains that the press-should devote its efforts to
"promoting development." .Books and imported publications are
not censored, and academic freedom of inquiry and research is
respected at universities.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Freedom of assembly is limited. There have been no public
meetings or demonstrations to express overt opposition to
government policies. The Government permits private
associations but requires that they be registered and accorded
legal recognition.
The Rwandan Labor Code grants workers the right to organize
"professional organizations." If such organizations establish
a collective bargaining agreement with the employer, they may
negotiate salaries and terms of employment. No unions
currently exist in Rwanda, but the Government is in the
process of forming a labor confederation. This confederation
is expected to begin functioning in early 1987. It is
organized under the guidance of the party, which must approve
its choice of officers, and hence will be limited in its
independence. All member, unions will have the right to
strike, but only with the approval of the confederation
executive bureau. In meetings prefatory to the
confederation's creation, the responsibility of labor to
contribute to the development of the nation and to transcend
the parochial interests of individual workers and trades were
recurrent themes. The Government has permitted seminars on
labor issues, organized by unofficial local labor bodies,
which receive some support from foreign labor confederations
and the International Labor Organization.
c. Freedom of Religion
Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution and
respected in practice. The population is 70 percent Christian
and 1 percent Muslim, with the remainder following traditional
African or no religious practices. Eighty percent of the
Christians are Catholic, but there are active Protestant
denominations. The Government does not openly favor one
religion over another, although the Catholic Archbishop of
Kigali is a member of the party's central committee, and all
but one or two members of the National Development Council are
Catholic. The Government depends upon church-sponsored
schools for a considerable portion of education in Rwanda
(over 85 percent of secondary schools are church sponsored).
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
Freedom of residence within Rwanda is restricted by laws and
regulations which require people to hold national identity
cards and residence and work permits. People who wish to
spend more than 3 days in a commune other than their own must
obtain permission from the authorities of the communes they
will be visiting. Property owners who do not require renters
to show valid documentation are subject to fines and even
imprisonment. "Clandestine" renters are subject to expulsion.
Foreign travel is closely controlled through the granting or
refusal of passports, preceded by a security check of each
applicant under the auspices of the Central Intelligence
Service. Rwandans often are denied permission to travel
abroad, usually without formal explanation. In addition, they
must pay a refundable deposit of about $400 for each passport
issued for unofficial travel. This is ostensibly to cover the
cost of any subsequent repatriation, but it has the effects of
discouraging travel and conserving foreign exchange.
Rwandans may emigrate provided they are properly documented.
Official policy states that people who left Rwanda as refugees
during the revolution or for other reasons may be repatriated
on a case-by-case basis. Refugees and displaced persons can
and do return for short family visits on a laissez-passer from
the country of refuge. Family members remaining in Rwanda may
also obtain a laissez-passer for visits to neighboring
countries, without having to go through all the formalities of
a passport application. Rwanda's extremely high population
density and shortage of land greatly restrict prospects for
repatriation and resettlement of refugees and displaced
persons. However, the Government has recognized the
citizenship claims of some of the refugees and displaced
persons forced into the country from Uganda in October 1982;
and in late 1985, it began resettling some of those recognized
as Rwandans .
The 1985 coup in Uganda caused a major upheaval in the status
of the 30,000 Ugandan refugees in Rwanda. Following the
ouster of President Obote, the Ugandans felt it was safe to
return to the land and houses they had abandoned in their
homeland. The Ugandan Government had already accepted the
citizenship claims of about 90 percent of these people, but
before any orderly resettlement process could be negotiated
with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and
other agencies, the refugees began moving back to Uganda. The
Rwandan Government assisted this movement by providing extra
rations for those willing to leave, buses to take them to the
border, and similar strong incentives. During a period of
confusion, many departed Rwanda. At the same time, services
such as food distribution, woodcutting, and the like became
disrupted among the refugees remaining behind. Ultimately,
the Ugandan Government recognized the movement back across the
borders, and the last Ugandan citizen among the refugees left
in November 1985.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
Rwandans have no opportunity to change their government
through a free choice of alternative legislative proposals and
candidates from opposing parties for public office. All
policy decisions and nominations of candidates for public
office are made by the party, which is the "sole body
permitted political activity." The party in turn is dominated
by its president, who chooses the Secretary-General and
central committee and is the only constitutionally recognized
candidate for President of the nation.
Every citizen is automatically a member of the party and
theoretically must pay party dues on a sliding scale
representing 1 or 2 days pay per year. Delegates are elected
and appointed to the governing National Congress, which meets
every 2 years (most recently in December 1985). The essential
function of the congress is to endorse the programs presented
by the party leadership.
Only candidates approved by the party may run for public
office. The President can veto candidates for the legislative
seats of the National Development Council. At the local
level, representatives are expected to be responsive to the
voters, as demonstrated by the fact that many incumbents were
defeated in 1985 elections.
Rwanda's preindependence traditional feudal society, dominated
by the Tutsi ethnic group (10 percent of the population,
according to the 1978 census), was transformed in 1959 by a
revolution of the majority Hutu (89 percent of the population)
into a society with a stronger emphasis on individual rights.
An ethnic majority government confirmed these internal changes
at independence in 1962. During the next decade, Hutu efforts
to redress the social, economic, and educational imbalance led
to division and corruption among the Hutus and to sporadic
ethnic strife. This gave rise to the coup d'etat which
brought President Habyarimana to power.
Women play a marginal role in political life. Nevertheless,
there is 1 woman in the party's 21-member central committee, 9
of 70 legislative deputies are women, and there are a good
number of women council members at the local level.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights
Rwanda has made a concentrated effort in recent years to
participate in human rights activities and to improve its
human rights record. Representatives of the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have made periodic visits to
prisons. In its 1985 Report, Amnesty International was
concerned about the continued imprisonment of a number of
prisoners of conscience but also noted that some had been
released and that the Minister of Justice and Kigali's Roman
Catholic Archbishop had investigated allegations of harsh
prisons conditions. The results of this latter investigation
have not been published. There were no reports of requests
for outside investigations of alleged human rights violations
in 1985. Freedom House rated Rwanda "not free."
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND CULTURAL SITUATION
Rwanda is one of the world's poorest and most densely
populated countries (6.3 million people and 3.8 percent annual
population growth in 1985). Gross national product (GNP) per
capita has more than doubled since 1970, but still totaled
only $270 in 1983. Some 95 percent of Rwandans earn their
living from subsistence farms averaging less than two acres.
Urban residents are marginally more prosperous than rural
farmers but suffer unemployment, with wages lagging behind
moderate inflation. In the mid-1970s, 30 percent of urban
dwellers and 90 percent of rural inhabitants were estimated to
be living below the absolute poverty level.
Rwanda's principal export crop is coffee, which accounts for
about 70 percent of foreign exchange earnings and provides the
bulk of government revenues. The country has little industry
and must pay high transportation costs to move goods along a
1,100-mile road and railroad link to the sea via Uganda and
Kenya. The 1985 coup and fighting in Uganda effectively
blocked this route, forcing Rwanda to transport its imports
and exports via the less we 11 -developed roads of Tanzania,
thereby incurring even higher transportation costs. Real
economic growth in recent years has stayed ahead of population
growth, but prospects that it will continue to do so in the
long term are dim. Rwanda's trade, investment and banking
policies encourage private-sector economic activity. About 85
percent of Rwanda's small businessmen are Rwandans , and the
proportion is growing. The Rwandan Government has undertaken
a series of reforms aimed at stimulating labor intensive
industry as well as encouraging privatization and trade
liberalization. Foreign investment is currently stagnant, due
primarily to the inadequate transportation infrastructure.
Development goals and projects address all regions and
population groups equally. Life expectancy has increased from
41 years in 1968 to about 47 years in 1985, while infant
mortality has remained at a level of about 124 per 1,000 live
births. In 1977, Rwandans received about 87 percent of their
caloric nutritional requirements, and 54 percent of the
population had access to safe water in 1980. Adult literacy
was estimated at 50 percent in 1980, and primary school
enrollment as a percentage of primary school age children in
the population expanded from 49 percent in 1960 to 83 percent
in 1982 (male 87 percent, female 81 percent).
Children under 18 are not permitted to work without their
guardian's authorization, and they may not work at night
except under exceptional circumstances on a temporary basis.
The Minister responsible for labor affairs may grant work
permission to a child under 14. This Minister also sets the
minimum wage and overtime rates. Hours of work and
occupational health and safety are controlled by law and
enforced by labor inspectors.
Women perform most of the agricultural labor and have
benefited less than men from social development. Despite the
language in the Constitution, women's rights to property are
limited, and women are not treated equally in divorce
proceedings. Moreover, women have fewer chances for
education, employment, and promotion, often because men prefer
them to remain in uneducated traditional roles at home.
Family planning services are still inadequate but are
improving. There are virtually no day care services for
children of mothers who wish to work. There are few
organizations promoting women's interests, and efforts to
establish a national union of Rwandan women within the
political movement have been unsuccessful to date. However,
in 1985, the Ministry of Public Health and Social Affairs held
a 3-day seminar to examine the problems of women working in
urban areas, possibly indicating increased attention to this
subject by the Government.
The Constitution states, "all citizens are equal before the
law, without any discrimination, notably that of race, color,
origin, ethnicity, clan, sex, opinion, religion or social
position." However, the requirement that ethnic origin be
listed on identity documents helps to ensure that informal
(juotas corresponding to the Hutu/Tutsi ratio in society are
not exceeded. The Tutsi minority has in fact been relegated
to a minor role in government, civil service, and the military
but is better represented in private business.
